Quote from Not_Nish

I think the definition of a sport would be any form of organized, competitive physical or mentally challenging activity with a regulatory body and a universally accepted set of rules? While its true that Sky diving by itself may not be a sport, there is competitive sky diving that is judged on certain criteria, so that part of it should be (and is) considered a sport.

Thats why Parkour has fought against being labelled a sport. Large parts of the Parkour community have been against the idea of it being a sport, because it is based on personal physical discipline rather than competition. However, if it became an organized system of practitioners competing against each other with a set of rules and an enforcing body, then it would automatically become a sport, much like competitive skateboarding and MotoGP.

Pretty much this. I would think a sport would require some sort of mental and/or physical fitness. I wouldn't classify video games as a sport because of that.

"Oh you're an athlete? What do you do?"
"I play Call of Duty."

Sport is kind of a silly term. I mean these things have practically nothing in common other than moving.

Quote from Cronos

Sport is kind of a silly term. I mean these things have practically nothing in common other than moving.

...and competition, and requiring certain skills.

Quote from Ashlander

...and competition, and requiring certain skills.

They all require different skills. And there's competition in practically everything.

A big number of them involve handling balls in one way or another as well.

Quote from Cronos

Sport is kind of a silly term. I mean these things have practically nothing in common other than moving.

Apart from the stuff that Ashlander listed out, it also needs a recognized governing body (or association), a set of universally accepted rules and a paying audience of some kind.

Quote from Not_Nish

it also needs a recognized governing body (or association), a set of universally accepted rules

If only boxing in America had anything resembling this.

Quote from Cronos

If only boxing in America had anything resembling this.

Boxing in America is riddled with corruption, underworld dealings and several controversies. But none of this means there is no governing body or a set of rules. It happens to be a crappily administrated sport in America, but saying it has no administration would be very inaccurate.

What exactly defines mental fitness?

Quote from Raptor

What exactly defines mental fitness?

Mental fitness is too broad a category to define. I'm sure anyone attempting to describe it will leave something out. A few pop to mind that probably come together to form what we refer to as mental fitness:

1) Tactical ability.
2) Ability to handle pressure / holding your nerve.
3) Concentration / Focus
4) Ability to stay ahead of the opposition's strategy.
5) Ability to predict opponent's moves while remaining unpredictable yourself.
6) Ability to stick to the game plan when things go well, and ability to improvise when things go haywire.

A lot of this coming together is what athletes, gamers, performers and competitors of all sorts feel when they claim they are "in the zone". Its a combination of these factors that seem to encompass mental fitness.

That's what I thought. There seems to be a lot of "physical fitness or mental fitness" as consideration instead of just "physical fitness AND mental fitness."

For example:

Quote from Ashlander

Pretty much this. I would think a sport would require some sort of mental and/or physical fitness. I wouldn't classify video games as a sport because of that.

"Oh you're an athlete? What do you do?"
"I play Call of Duty."

I would consider video games as a sport by this definition since they do require mental fitness as far as I'm concerned.

The problem again is that 'video games' can mean too many things. There are games that could easily qualify as a sport, and there are softer games that still fall under the category of 'video game' that don't fall under that criteria.

My neighbour's 2 year old son plays a game where all you have to do is pick the odd one out from a line up, and the game keeps going on and on. So that is a 'video game' but its certainly not a sport.

So SOME video games are sports and some aren't.


As for Ashlander's Call of Duty example, if there is a governing body for the game, if there is an audience for the game, and if the game generates even the slightest bit of revenue for its players, then of course its a sport. Its a new breed of sport that all the old dinosaurs and their old school ways will have to come to terms with. But its still a sport.

Quote from Not_Nish

The problem again is that 'video games' can mean too many things. There are games that could easily qualify as a sport, and there are softer games that still fall under the category of 'video game' that don't fall under that criteria.

My neighbour's 2 year old son plays a game where all you have to do is pick the odd one out from a line up, and the game keeps going on and on. So that is a 'video game' but its certainly not a sport.

So SOME video games are sports and some aren't.


As for Ashlander's Call of Duty example, if there is a governing body for the game, if there is an audience for the game, and if the game generates even the slightest bit of revenue for its players, then of course its a sport. Its a new breed of sport that all the old dinosaurs and their old school ways will have to come to terms with. But its still a sport.

Oh sure then, I should've specified. I do agree then. I don't have an opinion whether or not competitive video games should be considered a sport, just wanted to clarify.

I personally feel that certain competitive video games absolutely must be considered sports in this day and age IF we're considering Chess a sport too. People can't take a condescending view towards these games anymore.

I can't help but feel like this thread is just people trying to sound/feel like they play sports, but just want to sit around playing games all day.